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During his recent visit to Sweden, President Barak Obama expressed great interest in Solvatten’s technology. The President took the opportunity to congratulate Solvatten on its innovation, and its potential to improve the lives of millions of people around the globe, “Congratulation on a wonderful achievement: it is a great story to tell”.

Safe, clean drinking water is a huge challenge for millions of people around the world. It is a sad fact, that almost 11% of the global population (783 million people) has no access to clean drinking water. The situation is so serious that the UN has categorized this problem in the millennium development goals (MDGs). Fortunately, the scenario is gradually improving due to technological innovation and proper attention by concerned parties. One such technological breakthrough has been offered by Swedish Climate Solver Solvatten, which is improving the daily lives of people across continents.

Solvatten is a well-designed container with a built-in filter that uses sunlight to transform unsafe water into drinking water. The basic science behind this procedure is that it uses heat and ultraviolet (UV) rays to kill bacteria, viruses and parasites, which spread diarrhea & other diseases. As a result, it produces optimum quality drinking water, which satisfies the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for safe water. In addition to a sunny place, which is a must for the device to operate, it requires 2 – 6 hours to transform unsafe water and produces 11- 44 liters of water/day.

Solvatten offers numerous socio-economic benefits including reducing deforestation, minimizing CO2 emissions, improving health, saving time for women and children by providing clean drinking water at home.

29 Aug in Changsha the 2013 Climate Solvers China was launched. “SMEs are of great importance in developing and promoting climate innovations. Climate Solvers creates a platform for these enterprises to develop and promote their climate innovations, renewable energy in particular.” Lu Lunyan, programme director of C&E (Climate and Energy) in WWF China, said at today’s capacity building workshop on financing and development for low-carbon enterprises. WWF is seeking five Climate Solver-technologies in China this year.

The capacity building workshop in Changsha was jointly hosted by WWF and Hunan Innovative Low Carbon Center (HILCC), and marked the beginning of Climate Sovler 2013 selection in China. Over 70 representatives from Hunan Development and Reform Commission, local industrial parks, Climate Solver innovation partners, and nominated SME candidates participated in this workshop.

Initiated by WWF Sweden, Climate Solver aims to identify and introduce innovations with great emissions reduction potential. China, India, and South Africa have followed Sweden to participate in this project to promote climate innovation across the world. Four enterprises from Nanjing, Wuhan and Baoding were selected as the first batch of Climate Solvers in 2012.

“The Climate Solvers theme of this year is renewable energy. We will attach great importance to the production and utilization of renewable energy, and the technology for smart grids and energy storage.” Lu Lunyan claimed that EU`s anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into China`s PV solar panels struck the industry with alarm. “China`s low-carbon industry should divert from depending on cheap production and export to innovation and market-oriented strategy. Climate Solvers aims to promote China`s low-carbon innovation and the development of enterprises with our endeavors.”

“SMEs can benefit from today`s capacity building workshop. They will be updated on the prospects of low-carbon industry, and strengthen their abilities to explore financing channels and transfer innovative technologies.” said Xu Yong, director of HILCC.

WWF will continue collaborating with industrial parks, financial institutions, and research centers to select Climate Solvers technologies according to several key criteria - emissions reduction potential, innovativeness, technology reliability, market potential, and supporting business strategy. SMEs in Hunan, Beijing, Wuhan, Baoding, Nanjing and Zhenjiang can apply after nominated by Climate Solver innovation partners. The 2013 Climate Solvers winners will be announced at an award ceremony in December.

"The renewable energy theme of Climate Solver awards across the world this year is part of a global call to financial institutions to Seize Your Power to invest much more resources in renewable energy while phasing out financial support for fossil coal, oil and gas." Adds Stefan Henningsson, Senior Adviser Climate Innovation at WWF International.